"What really motivates me is giving," he said. "I know a lot of people out there need the blood and the plasma and my heart told me to just donate. No problem."

Holmes is not alone.

"I think that blood and life are synonymous and, therefore, I would want someone to do it for me and how do they say -- pay it forward -- and that's kind of what I am doing here," said another doner, Wanda Sandle.

Donors come to any one of six Red Cross Blood Centers in Metro Atlanta for the one-hour procedure and can give blood once every 56 days and platelets once every seven days.

Either way, the blood is a lifeline for Georgia hospitals, ensuring that emergency needs are met.

"It will make sure that our community has all the blood that's needed so people like Aimee Copeland (now fighting a flesh eating bacteria illness) and others have the blood that's needed for blood transfusions," said Kristen Stancil of the American Red Cross-Georgia.

11Alive is taking the next step to ensure those needs are met. 11Alive's Help Desk will join with the Red Cross on Friday, June 8 for a special blood drive honoring Aimee Copeland -- to ensure that she will have a substantial amount of blood available during the trying weeks that lie ahead.

The blood drive will be held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Snellville Middle School, FRIDAY, JUNE 8, where Aimee was a student and where Aimee's mother Donna has worked for more than a decade. The school is located at 3155 Pate Road in Snellville 30078.